Police were last night hunting a double killer after the bodies of a teenage boy and girl were found murdered on an island.

The body of Samantha Barton, 16, was discovered late on Friday night at a care home near Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man.

She had been staying at Leece Lodge Two - operated by Isle of Man government social services and run by Nugent Care - which houses troubled young people.

The body of a 17-year-old boy - who has not yet been identified - was found on Saturday lunchtime in a thicket of trees about a quarter of a mile from the care home, police said. Home Office pathologists and a team of forensic scientists travelled from the mainland to the Isle of Man to investigate the killings.

Inspector Gary Roberts, of the Isle of Man Police, said of Samantha's death: "She clearly met a violent death and we launched a murder inquiry on that basis."

When the second body was found, another team of forensic scientists made their way to the island.

Post-mortem examinations were still being carried out and police refused to say what injuries the pair had sustained.

Inspector Roberts added: "The boy too had been murdered.

"We are not releasing the cause of either deaths for strong operational reasons, but we are linking the murders."

At a Press conference yesterday, the Senior Investigating Officer, Acting Detective Chief Inspector Guy Pickard said: "People in the Isle of Man will be saddened and shocked by these two tragic events.

"I would stress the force is confident the great strides we have made in the investigation of major crime provide us with an excellent chance of successfully detecting these two terrible crimes."

He said the force had increased its levels of patrol "in order to provide public reassurance in the coming days".